I am especially sad to see Summer go this year because outdoor bonding time with Louis and Lex has to be put on hold until the weather gets warm again next year. They truly learned to love each other in their little outdoor enclosure, and always got to enjoy fresh vegetables from our garden.

Nick and I adopted a little white bunny named “Lulu” one year ago today.

Neither of us had any experience with bunnies, but we knew “she” needed more than the confines of a large Tupperware container with a laundry basket on top.

We quickly learned that this animal was closer to a dog or cat than a rodent who stays in its cage all day. We let Lulu frolic around my apartment and learn to jump on and off the bed.

We also learned Lulu was potty trained. “She” wouldn’t go to the bathroom anywhere but in “her” cage.

Then, we decided to get Lulu a friend, Lex. And it was time to take Lulu to the vet to be altered.

“Lulu is a boy,” Nick told me on the phone from the vet’s.

So Lulu became Louis, and Louis became a house bunny. We traded the cage for a cat litter box, and gave Louis free reign of my room. When I come home from work, I usually find him buried under a sleeping bag or doing Bunny 500’s around the room.

Louis has brought so much joy to my life. Whether he’s binkying around the room, sleeping next to me during a nap, or licking my arm while I’m trying to do yoga, Louis is always there to make me laugh and smile. Thanks for one awesome year, Lou!

Nick and I are so lucky to have met this little white ball of fur a year ago. He brings us so much joy and is always able to put a smile on our faces with his quirky antics – whether it’s peeping his head out of a hole in my tapestry or sleeping next to our heads.

She chased Lou all around their pen, and then did the dominance dance on him.

Their playdate was still successful: Lex was binkying all over the place and Louis was doing Bunny 500’s (scampering like a race car in circles around the room). They even ate salad together!

Lou was very calm, and allowed Lex to take her stand. Nick was not surprised that Lex asserted herself: He knew she was a strong-willed bun the moment he met her.

We aren’t sure how old Lex is, but dominating behavior means she is sexually mature, which usually happens from 3-6 months in age. We set up an appointment for her to be spayed (or neutered – nothing will surprise me anymore). I hope it goes as smoothly as Louis’s operation.

Once they are both altered, they will be one step closer to their cage-free partnership!

You can’t stick two humans in a room and expect them to be fast friends. And this past week, I’ve learned you can’t do that for bunnies either.

Louis is an outgoing, life-of-the-party bunny who likes to be the center of attention.

Lex is a shy, timid bunny who takes a long time to warm up to people.

So it was not surprising that the first time they met, Louis assumed the dominant role by climbing on top of Lex, and Lex ran away and cowered in the corner.

That routine happened the first few times they met. It was very discouraging. I knew it would be a process, but I expected there to be more sniffing than humping.

But we kept at it, and kept arranging bunny dates.

Now, two weeks later, we’ve had a breakthrough. Here are the signs of a good bunny relationship developing that we’ve finally seen:

1. Ignoring: The two bunnies ignore each other, meaning they are not threatened

2. Sniffing/Grooming: The bunnies calmly sniff and groom each other; a sure sign of budding friendship

3. Resting/Grooming Themselves: The bunnies are each so relaxed they are able to discard their inhibitions and put themselves in a place of lowered awareness

Tricks we’ve used:

1. Put salad in the pen with them so they can munch on treats together

2. Rub each of their foreheads while they sniff each other, making them think they are grooming each other. This has been our most effective strategy

3. Place a screen between them at the first few meetings so they could slowly get used to each others’ scents without being thrown in one pen together right away

Bunny “dating” is a lot like human dating. They have to get to know each other before they live together. But if they keep having regular playdates and keep becoming more and more comfortable with each other, they’ll be friends in no time.